ragginovel Chapter 591 Hot Pot (Part 2)
Chapter 591 Hot Pot (Part 2)
Chapter 591 Hot Pot (Part 2)
"Hey~ you little brat..." Before Hei Gui could speak, Gan Di's voice rose first, "Why are you here to deliver a message to Hei Gui?"
The underling also looked miserable as he said to Emperor Gan, "I don't know, brother. Young Master Murong specifically asked me to deliver a message to Brother Hei Gui. I already told him I'm your man, but he..."
"Alright, alright." Hei Gui interrupted the underling in a hurry. He then looked at Gan Di and Wen Zheng and said, "Never mind that. I'll go too. You guys eat first. I'll be right back."
"Hey, don't end up like Guohua." Gan Di was actually feeling a bit uneasy, so he used this to tease Hei Gui.
"Don't worry." Hei Gui replied, and then stepped out the door.
By now, many of you who have seen this have probably already figured it out: this guy is... hiding something.
Although no one else, including Gan Di's underling, realized anything, Hei Gui understood that Murong Xiao had specifically sent Gan Di's underling to deliver a message to him, which was an implication of a guilty conscience Hei Gui had recently committed.
So, feeling guilty, Hei Gui quickly ended the conversation and ran out, afraid that if they talked any longer, Gan Di would make some connections.
…………
It's just a few steps away, you can get there in no time.
At the alley entrance, when Hei Gui saw Murong Xiao, he spoke in a rather impolite tone: "Xiao, humph... you've got some skills now, taking care of Guohua so quickly."
Don't think it's strange that Hei Gui dared to speak to Murong Xiao like that; Guo Hua actually had a similar attitude at the beginning.
After all, long before the Murong family "entered the game," the four of them were already "big bosses" in the Hebei area, running gambling dens, brothels, pawnshops, loan sharks, and other shady businesses. None of them were easy to deal with.
When the Murong family rose to prominence as the direct front for the "Daming Civil Official Interest Group," although almost all the "small dealers" north of the Yangtze River were wiped out in a short period of time, many "big dealers" like Gan Di, Guo Hua, Hei Gui, and Wen Zheng survived.
Of course, their survival wasn't because the Murong family lacked the ability to completely wipe them out, but simply because...
First, these big players generally have powerful backers in official circles; otherwise, how could they have grown so large? So, strictly speaking, they are also "one of us," and we can sit down and talk.
Secondly, due to the rapid expansion of the Murong family's power in recent years, even they themselves felt it was too fast, resulting in a shortage of trustworthy and capable managers within the family. Therefore, for at least the next ten years, they would have to retain these large dealers from various regions to help manage this vast "gray industry empire."
Thus, the term "intersection" came into being.
That means you big players can continue doing what you were doing as usual, but you have to hand over 30% of your net profits to the Murong family.
For these bigwigs in highly profitable industries, even if they handed over 30%, or even 90%, the remaining 10% would still be enough for them to live a life of luxury. So it's not really that excessive.
But... human nature is always greedy.
Even the richest person wouldn't feel happy about paying money abroad. If they can avoid paying, who would want to pay more?
Therefore, there will inevitably be people who drag their feet on paying their debts when the due date arrives, and at this point, the Murong family will have no choice but to send someone to "collect the debt".
If you're lucky enough to be visited by Ah-Xiao, then as Gan-di mentioned earlier, he'll speak to you "politely" and reason with you, appealing to your emotions.
For example, phrases like, "Our family also works for those gentlemen. You give us 30%, but do you know how much we give up?", "Don't be fooled by our family's size and influence; it's all an empty shell! Every day, the moment we open our eyes, we have three thousand disciples, and their every need is served by us, the Murong family.", and "You can see my frail health. I've come all this way in this sweltering heat without even having a sip of tea, and I'm talking to you like this. What am I after? It's all for the sake of harmony and prosperity." and so on.
After his persuasive speech, and by addressing these bigwigs as "uncle" and "elder brother," how could they not give him face?
But if it were Murong Ji and Murong Dian who were in charge, the situation would be completely different.
These two usually barge in with the attitude of "mountain king demanding payment from the neighbor's dog," acting all high and mighty, like, "What elders or juniors? I'm your father! Pay up or I'll wipe you out tomorrow!"
How can this situation possibly end well? Even if you manage to get your money, you'll still be enemies in the future.
Of course, they did indeed do things like bringing people to wipe out someone the next day.
It's not that the Murong family can't or dare not do this kind of thing, it's just that it would be very troublesome, and in the end, Murong Shu would inevitably have to clean up the mess.
If you take down a "big player," you'll inevitably have to offer some "compensation" to the powerful figure behind him, right? That's a huge loss from the start. Then, the position of the big player becomes vacant, and you need to find someone to fill it, right? If the replacement isn't ruthless enough and can't control the situation, his territory will fall into chaos. If the replacement doesn't manage the business well, the revenue will decrease... These are all problems.
Otherwise, why would Murong Shu love Ah Xiao so much, a congenitally disabled man who couldn't learn any martial arts and couldn't even take care of himself? It's all because of the contrast with his other two sons.
But today's Murong Xiao was clearly different from his usual self. Facing Hei Gui's habitually arrogant tone, he interrupted without hesitation: "Hei Gui, I heard you've been getting quite close to Emperor Gan lately? You've even been secretly doing the business of 'harvesting and mutilating' people. Aren't you afraid of losing your good karma?"
Hei Gui was genuinely surprised to see that the other person's demeanor was completely different from before, and that he had even revealed his secret with Gan Di. However, after pausing for a couple of seconds, he still replied, "Heh... running a gambling den or building a brothel, which one doesn't incur moral failings? What do you scholars say again? Oh, the 'fifty-step laugh'..."
"Was the hot pot delicious today?" Murong Xiao interrupted him once again, asking a question that left everyone puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Hei Gui asked, looking suspicious.
“I heard that Gan Di has a henchman who falsified accounts in the business you and Gan Di did together, helping you to take advantage of Gan Di a lot,” Murong Xiao said. “Even I can’t stand such a traitor, so I carried out the ‘rules’ of the underworld on him.”
Hei Gui's expression changed several times as the other person spoke. First, his doubt turned into fear, and then his fear gave rise to new doubts. When Murong Xiao said the last few words, Hei Gui seemed to suddenly realize something. The next second, he immediately ran to the corner of the wall and started vomiting violently.
"I'll let you off this time because you only recently boarded Emperor Gan's pirate ship." Murong Xiao looked at the other party's disheveled appearance and continued calmly, "If you dare to get involved in this kind of business again in the future, what you eat won't be 'outsiders' anymore..." He then imitated Hei Gui's tone from earlier and mocked, "What do you hooligans say? Don't blame me later... an eye for an eye, blood for blood."
…………
"Brother, Young Master Murong would like to have a chat outside."
A moment later, it was Wen Zheng's younger brother who ran into the shop again to deliver the message.
"Huh? Where's Hei Gui?" Gan Di, who was standing next to him, asked, startled.
"Uh... Brother Hei Gui just left with his men," the henchman replied.
"What?" Wen Zheng's expression changed upon hearing this.
Gan Di stood there frozen, speechless for a long time.
When he realized what was happening, he reached out and grabbed Wen Zheng's arm tightly: "Hey, Wen Zheng, you can't leave anymore. If you go out, you'll be taken care of by Ah Xiao."
“Oh…” Wen Zheng chuckled awkwardly and gently removed Gan Di’s hand. “Brother Gan Di, what you’re saying… do I really need to ‘go out’ and let him settle things again?” He wasn’t afraid of losing face and spoke the truth. “I’m the youngest here. Guo Hua and Brother Hei Gui have already paid. I’m not like you… you know my backer… I’d better not wait for him to turn against me and just go and pay myself. You can enjoy your meal slowly.”
After saying this, the opportunist led his underlings out, bowing and scraping.
A perfectly good hot pot meal was suddenly reduced to just Gan Di alone.
Frustrated and angry, he threw down his chopsticks, took a swig of his drink, but still showed no intention of going out to settle the score, remaining seated and sulking.
He was thinking: even if I have to pay in the end, at the very least I should get Ah-Xiao to come in and invite me, and then I'll give in. That way, it will look better on my face.
And as he wished, Ah-Hsiao really did come in.
They "walked" in.
Let alone Emperor Gan, anyone who knew Murong Xiao would be shocked to see this scene.
"Wow! That's something new!" But Gan Di was a ruthless man who had seen it all, and he immediately regained his composure, even saying sarcastically, "Even a cripple can walk now?"
"I've never been a cripple," Murong Xiao said calmly as he walked into the house. "I'm just naturally weak; if I stand for too long, the bones in my legs might break."
"Hmph..." Gan Di sneered, "So you're cured now?"
"I suppose so," Murong Xiao replied.
"Then why did you just say that your legs were not working properly and told them to come out to see you one by one?" Gan Di said.
“Because I don’t plan to let too many people know that I’m ‘cured,’ I still have to pretend that I can’t walk,” Murong Xiao said. “Then let’s take advantage of that.”
His words were, in effect, an undisguised betrayal of his murderous intent towards Emperor Gan.
Gan Di, a seasoned veteran, couldn't possibly miss the subtext, but he still maintained a fierce expression and continued in a sarcastic tone: "Oh... so you consider me one of your own?"
"Are you even human?" Murong Xiao's reply was an undisguised insult.
Clearly, nowadays, he no longer needs to be "polite" to everyone; he can honestly express his likes and dislikes.
You can see this from what he said outside just now...
When he spoke to Guohua, he was still willing to address him as "Uncle Guohua" as a junior, and even when he spoke threateningly, his words were not too harsh.
But when he spoke to Hei Gui, he addressed him by his first name, and his attitude and threatening manner were more direct and rude.
When it came to Gan Di, he simply didn't bother to call him by name and just launched into direct insults.
"Ha! Hahahaha..." Gan Di laughed despite being scolded.
For a gang leader like him, swearing at each other was nothing out of the ordinary, so Murong Xiao's words were nothing special.
After laughing a few times, Emperor Gan said, "Well said, you've got guts." As he spoke, he stood up. "It seems you're the one sitting in Murong Shu's place now?"
When Emperor Gan stood up, it was nothing unusual. But the moment he stood up, he suddenly realized that Murong Xiao was even taller than he had imagined.
Because Ah-Xiao usually appears in a wheelchair after he comes of age, and Gan-Di was sitting when he came in, so Gan-Di didn't realize this at first.
At this moment, both sides were standing, and the distance between them was no more than two meters. Gan Di noticed that when Ah Xiao stood up, he was tall and handsome, and had a refined and elegant demeanor. He was even better than his deceased father.
“I advise you to refrain from mentioning my father’s name…” Murong Xiao did not answer Gan Di’s question, but stared into the other’s eyes and said, “…I find your mouth dirty.”
"What are you doing?" Gan Di was still yelling, even bringing his face close to Murong Xiao's and grinning maliciously, "So what if I shouted? You dare to touch me?"
After saying this, he snorted coldly and turned back to the table: "You all know my backing in the court, don't compare me to those good-for-nothings like Guohua." He poured himself another glass of wine. "What is your Murong family anyway? Aren't you all just dogs for those officials? What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for?" He downed the wine in one gulp. "I'm telling you right now, I'm here to celebrate your father's death with this wine, what can you do to me?"
Ping——
Before he could finish speaking, the cup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered.
His right hand fell along with the cup.
Gan Di stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the neat cut on his wrist that had not yet begun to hurt.
"what--"
Just as he let out his first scream, Murong Xiao grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the table and, with lightning speed, tore his tongue out of his mouth.
At this point, Gan Di was undoubtedly certain that the other party truly dared to "touch him," and would likely do so until he was unable to do anything more.
Gan Di immediately unleashed all his strength, channeling his palm power, and delivered a desperate palm strike with his remaining left hand.
However, Murong Xiao easily dodged this attack. While dodging, Xiao also used a certain attack method that Gan Di could not see at all, severing Gan Di's feet at the ankles.
Losing his balance and falling to the ground, Gan Di finally realized that he was probably doomed...
His henchmen who were guarding outside haven't rushed in yet, which means they're unlikely to come.
Even if they come... so what?
Although Gan Di's martial arts skills cannot be said to be very high, he can be considered as second-rate in the martial arts world. Now, after Murong Xiao used a few moves, Gan Di was not only unable to fight back, but he didn't even know how his hands and feet were crippled. So, wouldn't it be pointless to send more underlings to him?
"I'm afraid you'll become a fool, so I might as well tell you." Murong Xiao looked down at Emperor Gan on the ground, his tone still icy, "I only made a few insignificant promises to your backer in the letter, and he agreed to 'replace' you. After all, if those 'businesses' you've been doing in secret really get out of hand, they won't be able to suppress them, and they might even get implicated."
As Murong Xiao spoke, he raised his foot and stepped on Emperor Gan's back.
His legs were so powerful, as if he had been accumulating power for decades while sitting in a wheelchair, and now he couldn't wait to release it.
"So... just go in peace."
With each word he uttered, Murong Xiao increased the force of his foot. When all nine words were finished, his foot, at a steady pace, "crushed" through the flesh, bones, blood, and internal organs of Emperor Gan's torso like mud.